Slide-out room with  pitched roof

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides for a manufactured housing unit having a slide-out room and main living compartment both with a truss-less pitched roof and cathedral ceiling. The slide-out room extends from the main living compartment through a pentagonal opening in the side wall under a gabled dormer. The dormer roof and main living compartment roof are constructed without conventional roof trusses or ridge beams to provide the additional head room of a cathedral ceiling.

This invention relates to manufactured housing units and recreationalvehicles with slide-out rooms.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Slide-out rooms are common features for manufactured housing units andrecreational vehicles. Heretofore, manufactured housing units and RVshave used flat roofs and ceilings. Because the slide-out room retractswithin the main living compartment, the roofs and ceilings of theslide-out room and the main living compartment have been flat.

The present invention provides for a manufactured housing unit orsimilar structure having a slide-out room and main living compartmentboth with a truss-less pitched roof and cathedral ceiling. The slide-outroom extends from the main living compartment through an opening in theside wall under a gabled dormer. The dormer roof and main livingcompartment roof are constructed without conventional roof trusses orridge beams to provide the additional head room of a cathedral ceiling.The peak of the dormer roof is formed by rafters joined to a tie beam.The other end of the dormer rafter are butt cut and toed into therafters of the main living compartment without ridge beams. Theslide-out room roof has a similar truss-less construction. The peak ofthe slide-out roof is formed by rafters joined to its own tie beam. Theslide-out rafters are butt cut and connected directly to the doubleplate of the slide-out sidewalls. A peripheral abutment plate mounted tothe open end of the slide-out room sidewalls and roof acts as a stop andallows the slide-out room to be permanently secured in the extendedposition by fastening the abutment plate directly to the sidewall of themain living compartment.

The advantages of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of an embodiment of the invention with referenceto the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings illustrate an embodiment of the present invention, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a simplified perspective view of a conventional manufacturedhousing unit with a flat roof slide-out room;

FIG. 2 is a simplified end sectional view of the conventionalmanufactured housing unit with a flat roof slide-out room of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an interior side view of the slide-out room of theconventional manufactured housing unit of FIG. 1

FIG. 4 is a simplified perspective view of an embodiment of the presentinvention showing a manufactured housing unit and slide-out room with apitched roof;

FIG. 5 is a simplified end sectional view of the manufactured housingunit and slide-out room of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a simplified side sectional view of the manufactured housingunit and slide-out room of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a partial exploded view of another embodiment of amanufactured housing unit and pitched roof slide-out room;

FIG. 8 is a partial exploded view of the pitched roof slide-out room ofFIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a side sectional view of the manufactured housing unit of FIG.7 showing the pitched roof slide-out room in the retracted position; and

FIG. 10 is a side sectional view of the manufactured housing unit ofFIG. 7 showing the pitched roof slide-out room in the extended position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention provides for a pitched roof and cathedral ceilingfor both the slide-out room and main living compartment. For simplicityof illustration and explanation, the teachings of this invention areillustrated and explained as part of a typical manufactured housingunit, but may be incorporated into any slide-out room application. Inaddition, it is understood that the teachings of the present inventionmay be employed with both manual and powered slide-out roomapplications. Due to the construction methods for manufacturing thepitched roof slide-out room, explained hereinafter, the teaching of thisinvention is ideally suited for the present invention and can beutilized in manufactured housing and recreational vehicles ranging froma width of seven feet to twenty-eight feet, but can be used with roofconfigurations of any pitch (angle).

Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1-3 generally illustrate the roofconfiguration of a conventional manufactured housing unit and slide-outroom with flat roofs and ceilings. The conventional slide-out roomretracts and extends from the main living compartment so that the flatroof of the slide-out room slides under the flat ceiling of the mainliving unit. By contrast, FIGS. 4-6 generally illustrate the roofconfiguration of a manufactured housing unit 10 embodying the presentinvention. Manufactured housing unit 10 includes a main livingcompartment 12 and a truss-less pitched roof slide-out room 14.Slide-out room 14 extends from main living compartment 12 through apentagonal opening 13 in the side wall under a gabled dormer 16. Theinterior of main living compartment 12 has a cathedral ceiling in thedormer area of the main living compartment. Slide-out room 14 includes apitched roof and cathedral ceiling, whose dimensions and angle conformsto that of pentagonal opening 13 and dormer 16. As shown in FIGS. 3 and6, the cathedral ceilings of the pitched roof slide-out room 14 and mainliving compartment 12 provide additional overhead space thanconventional slide-out rooms.

FIGS. 7-10 illustrate a more detailed manufactured housing unit 20embodying the present invention. Manufactured housing unit 20 includes amain living compartment 30 and a truss-less pitched roof slide-out room50. Main living compartment 30 includes sidewalls 32, a pitched roof 34and a gabled dormer 40. Slide-out room 50 extends from main livingcompartment 30 through a pentagonal opening 31 in side wall 32 undergabled dormer 40. As shown in FIG. 6, the interior of main livingcompartment 30 also has a cathedral ceiling 36 in the dormer area of themain living compartment. Slide-out room 50 includes a floor deck 52,gabled end wall 54 and side walls 56. Slide-out room 50 also includes apitched roof 60 and cathedral ceiling 62, whose dimension and angleconforms to the dimension of the pentagonal opening 31 in sidewall 32 ofmain living compartment 30 under dormer 40.

FIGS. 7-10 also illustrate the basic construction of pitched roof 60 ofslide-out room 50, as well as, roof 34 and dormer 40 of main livingcompartment 30. Slide-out room 50 and main living compartment 30 areconstructed using conventional manufactured housing methods andmaterials. As shown, floor deck 52, end wall 54 and sidewalls 56 areframed from wooden studs and covered with plywood, particle board,drywall or other wall and floor sheathing. The exterior and interiorfaces of end wall 54 and sidewalls 56 may be painted or covered withsliding, tile or any suitable treatment as desired. Likewise, floor deck52 may be carpeted or covered with tile or other flooring coverings.Floor deck 52, end wall 54 and sidewalls 56 may also be constructed ofmonocoque laminate wall panels, which are well known in the manufacturedhousing and recreational vehicle industry. Monocoque wall panels arelight weight and can be constructed in any desirable width, size orconfiguration. Typically, the monocoque wall panels have an internaltubular aluminum skeleton and an insulated core sandwiched between outerskins. The internal skeleton provides structural integrity to the panel.Typically, the insulation core is a polyester/styrene copolymer and theouter skins are a gel-coat, such as Filon, bonded to lauan plywood. Themonocoque panels provide a strong yet light weight covering withoutadding significant thickness to the walls and floor itself.

As best shown in FIG. 7, dormer roof 42 and main living compartment roof34 are constructed without conventional roof trusses or ridge beams toprovide the additional head room of a cathedral ceiling. The peak ofdormer roof 42 is formed by rafters 44 joined at the top to a tie beam46. The other end of rafter 44 are butt cut and toed into the rafters 38of main living compartment 30 without ridge beams. Rafters 44 arecovered with conventional plywood or similar sheathing, which is nailedand/or glued to the rafters. As with other conventional roofs, roof 34and dormer roof 42 are finished with moisture barrier (not shown) androof shingles or any other suitable roof treatment.

As shown in FIG. 8. slide-out room roof 60 has a similar truss-lessconstruction. The peak of slide-out roof 60 is formed by rafters 64joined at the top to a tie beam 66. Slide-out rafters 64 are butt cutand connected directly to the double plate 58 of slide-out sidewalls 56.It should be noted that only one end of tie beam 66 is supported by aking post 68. Again, rafters 64 of slide-out roof 60 are covered withplywood sheathing, which is nailed and/or glued to the rafters andfinished with moisture barrier and roof shingles.

The need for roof trusses and ridge beams is eliminated once floor deck52, end wall 54, sidewalls 56 and roof 60 of slide-out room 50 areinterconnected. In small applications, where the main compartment isless than twenty-eight feet wide, the relatively small size of theaccompanying slide-out room can be fabricated without roof trusses andridge beams without sacrificing the integrity of the finished structure.The construction of the dormer 40 and slide-out roof 60 uses variousmetal rafter brackets, speed bracing, hold down brackets, fascia clipand other braces and truss bracketing (not shown) to compensate for thelack of conventional trusses with ridge beams and side posts. It shouldbe noted that the sheathing used to construct slide-out roof 60 anddormer 40 is nailed and/or glued to the various rafters, which alsohelps maintain the structural integrity of the structure.

A peripheral abutment plate 70 is mounted to the open end of slide-outsidewalls 56 and slide-out roof 60. Abutment plate 70 is constructed oflayered planks of plywood or laminate 72 and is faced with a plank offinished vernier, tile or wall treatment 74 (FIG. 8). Abutment plate 70acts as a stop when extending slide-out room 50 from the main livingcompartment. In addition, slide-out room 50 can be permanently securedin the extended position by fastening abutment plate 70 directly tosidewall 32 of main living compartment 30 (FIG. 10).

One skilled in the art will note that the truss-less pitched roof andcathedral ceiling provided by the roof designs of this invention createadditional overhead space within the housing units. The pitched roofline of the slide-out room provides a gabled outer wall for a brokenlinear appearance. When extended, the cathedral ceiling of the slide-outroom gives a continuous loft appearance from the main living area. Theincreased over head space also creates more area on the exterior wall ofthe slide-out room, which can be used for larger windows and decor. Thepitch roof and cathedral ceiling create more overhead room within thesame living space and presents a more aesthetic visual appearance. Thepresent invention can be utilized in manufactured housing andrecreational vehicles ranging from a width of seven feet to twenty-eightfeet. The pitched roof design of the slide-out room can be sloped forany desired pitch.

The embodiment of the present invention herein described and illustratedis not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to theprecise form disclosed. It is presented to explain the invention so thatothers skilled in the art might utilize its teachings. The embodiment ofthe present invention may be modified within the scope of the followingclaims.

1. A manufactured housing unit comprising: A main living compartmentincluding a sidewall, a pitched roof and a gabled dormer extending fromthe pitched roof, the dormer having a truss-less pitched roof andcathedral ceiling, the sidewall having a pentagonal opening thereinunder the dormer; and a slide-out room having a truss-less pitched roofand a cathedral ceiling, the slide-out room being adapted to extend andretract from the main living compartment through the pentagonal openingso that the pitched roof of the slide-out room slides under thecathedral ceiling of the dormer.
 2. The manufactured housing unit ofclaim 1 wherein the slide-out room has an open interior end disposedwithin the main living compartment, the slide-out room includes aperipheral abutment plate mounted to the slide-out room around the openinterior end for engagement with the sidewall of the main livingcompartment when the slide-out room is extended from the main livingcompartment.
 3. The manufactured housing unit of claim 1 wherein theslide-out room includes two spaced sidewalls, the truss-less pitchedroof of the slide-out room includes a plurality of rafters mountedsuspended between a tie beam and the slide-out room sidewalls.